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Flint is well known for its modern violent crimes but Flint's history is filled with little known stories that read stranger than fiction. Gruesome murders, weird accidents, and violent deaths. Join us every Thursday as Joe Schipani details some of the odd but true deaths he found in Flint's archives.

Revenge April
7th, 1921

This story starts in October of 1920
with a fifteen year old girl named Bessie.

After School, Bessie enjoyed
going to her father’s grocery store on Saginaw Street. She would help out her
father and earn a little money to go shopping at the second hand store just a
couple blocks up the road.

On that day in October, Bessie
found herself alone with the store owner Hyman Potashnich. After being gone for
a while, she ran back to her father’s store, told him she did not feel well and
wanted to go home. A few months went by, Bessie’s mother noticed a change in
her little girl. At first she thought it was just the winter blues, but by
April she knew something was seriously wrong. Bessie’s mother consulted with
her close friend and the two of them sat Bessie down to find out what was
wrong. Bessie finally confessed that while in Mr. Potashnich’s store in
October, he assaulted her.

Outraged, Bessie’s mother told
her father and he soon gathered a small group of friends to avenge his girl.
Bessie’s father and friends went to the second hand store where Hyman lived in
an apartment upstairs.

According to a neighbor, around
three in the morning she heard gun shots and saw a number of men leave the
store and drive away. Hyman’s partner in the store arrived at the scene and was
the first to find Hyman. He called the police and they found Hyman with two
bullet holes in his chest, lying on a small cot in an upstairs room.

After interviewing the only
witness, the neighbor, they arrested seven people for questioning. Amongst the
people detained were Bessie’s father, her brother, Hyman’s business partner,
and a few family friends. Hyman’s partner claimed that it was a suicide and at
first the police believed the claim. A rifle was placed in Hyman’s hands and
the place was staged to look like it might have been a suicide.

Upon further investigation, they
found a bullet hole in the side of the mattress that indicated that the shot
was fired in the doorway of the room. This sparked an investigation. During the
coroner’s autopsy no gun powder or residue was found on Hyman’s hand. With the
new evidence, the case became a homicide.

After the investigation, Bessie’s
father confessed to the murder and justified it by claiming he avenged the
wrong doing of his daughter.

Hyman’s business partner was also
arrested after confessing to the police that this was not the first time Hyman
had been accused of assaulting someone. He felt Hyman deserved what he got.

Five people were tried for the
death of Hyman and only three served time for the crime. Bessie’s father and Hyman’s
business partner were indicted for murder and a close friend of Bessie’s father
was convicted of attempted murder.

~ Joe Schipani is the Executive Director of the Flint Public Art Project and the FFAR Project Assistant at the Community Foundation of Greater Flint. Find him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HauntedFlint/

"The 13 Days of Creepmas is an online Celebration of Seasonal Spookiness from December 1 - 13. The idea is to bring a macabre twist to Christmas and the holidays. Get creative and post on your blog, website and social media - share your twisted yule visions with the world and be sure to tag them #Creepmas and/or #MakingCreepmas!"

Draw it, paint it, photograph it, sculpt it, photomanipulate it - however you want to do it, each day of the 13 Days of Creepmas (December 1-13) has a different theme. Post your images on your social media accounts with the hashtag #MakingCreepmas

Flint is well known for its modern violent crimes but Flint's history is filled with little known stories that read stranger than fiction. Gruesome murders, weird accidents, and violent deaths. Join us every Thursday as Joe Schipani details some of the odd but true deaths he found in Flint's archives.

The Hammer July 10th, 1920

William Proctor, a night watchman
for the Buick factory number 5, was just about to finish his shift on a Tuesday
morning in July 1920 when he was served with a bill of divorce.

William and Carrie Proctor never
had the perfect marriage.

The Proctors had adult children,
one living in South Carolina and the other two had lived in homes on the same
street. They were also the adopted parents of their two grandchildren, ages
thirteen and five.

They spent 40 years of their
marriage arguing. But this fight was different.

William discovered that his wife
had opened a bank account without his knowledge and was hiding money from him.
They fought for numerous days about this matter and William demanded she close
the account and return his money to him.

When William arrived home after
work he was angry. He knew that the divorce bill was coming, but the blow to his ego combined with being
served at work pushed him over the edge.

After a half hour of screaming at
each other William picked up his hammer and started hitting Carrie in the head
with it.

As she fell to the floor their
oldest adopted child was awoke by the noise and came into the room. When he saw
what had happened he let out a scream. William heard the scream and started
swinging the hammer at the child. Lucky for the boy he was small and quick and
avoided being struck by the hammer.

This made William suddenly realized
that his anger was out of control.

By this time the neighbors had
heard the screams and notified the police. William heard the sirens coming down
Nicholas Avenue. He knew his fate was sealed. He pulled a razor knife out of
his pocket and slit his throat from ear to ear.

By the time police arrived
William Proctor was dead. He had bled to death.

Carrie Proctor was still alive at
the time the police arrived. She was rushed to Hurley Hospital but died during
surgery.

~ Joe Schipani is the Executive Director of the Flint Public Art Project and the FFAR Project Assistant at the Community Foundation of Greater Flint. Find him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HauntedFlint/

Flint is well known for its modern violent crimes but Flint's history is filled with little known stories that read stranger than fiction. Gruesome murders, weird accidents, and violent deaths. Join us every Thursday as Joe Schipani details some of the odd but true deaths he found in Flint's archives.

Hanging in the Jail

June 8th, 1919

Gera Cassie, who went by the
alias Julius Nemeth was in jail awaiting trial for charges of statutory rape
with his twelve year old daughter.

The turnkey at the jail claimed
that Gera was despondent, spending most of his time in his cell crying and not
eating. The turnkey also stated that he wasn’t sure if the tears were tears of
being wrongly accused or tears of guilt.

Gera was housed on the second
floor with the other circuit court prisoners, due to the nature of his crime.

On the night of June 8th,
1919 Gera disassembled the rope used to draw the windows open and closed.

Later that night, he climbed on
the top bunk and tied one end of the rope to the metal frame of the bed and the
other end around his neck.

He then took the second rope and
hog tied his feet and hands together, stopping him from changing his mind at
the last minute.

After Gera had all the ropes
secure, he rolled himself off the top bunk.

He died instantly, waking the
inmate in the bunk below him.

When the guards came, the thirty-four
year old Austrian man hung from his bed with his hand and feet still tied
behind his back.

The prosecutor took that as an
admission of guilt.

~ Joe Schipani is the Executive Director of the Flint Public Art Project and the FFAR Project Assistant at the Community Foundation of Greater Flint. Find him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HauntedFlint/

Are you taking part in a Creepy Christmas Card Exchange?You can either purchase creepy cards or make your own.Below are a few cards I made. I simply combined Halloween stickers (bats, cats and skulls) and Christmas stickers (Santa hats, trees and bows) and created my own creepy Christmas designs.

The 2018 Halloween season has come to a close but have no fear, A Bewitching Guide to All Things Halloween will always be here when you need a Halloween fix.I need a break for a couple days to unwind after a busy October and get started on my winter holiday plans and projects. But Halloween is always in my heart and new blog posts will start again next week including our Freaky Flint History posts on Thursdays.I'll also post photos of my family's pumpkins, our Halloween costumes and more.